Hallworthy wants time to match Aban rig rate

Hallworthy Shipping wants additional time to match the rate of lowest bidder Aban Offshore in ONGC's 12-rig tender where price bids were opened on September 19.

An industry source says ONGC asked Hallworthy on October 9 to match Aban’s rate in Category-I of the tender for its rig Foresight Driller IX if it wanted a contract. Hallworthy was given till October 13.

But Hallworthy then wrote to ONGC asking until October 27 for its management to take a decision. ONGC did not directly accept the request but asked Hallworthy to extend the validity of its bid bond beyond October 16.

Hallworthy told ONGC on October 14 that it was extending the validity of its bid bond till November 10. “From this, you can assume ONGC has accepted Hallworthy’s extension request,” says a driller.

ONGC issued LoIs on October 9 to Aban for rigs Aban-III and Aban-IV in Category-I and also issued LoIs on the same day to Jagson Drilling for its rigs Deepsea Fossil and Deepsea Fortune in Category II. ONGC negotiated Aban’s price down by $1000/day to an Effective Day Rate (EDR) of $80,001 while Jagson was hired at an EDR of $76,000.

ONGC also asked Deepwater Drilling to match Aban’s new rate in Category I for its three rigs Valiant Driller, Noble Charlie Yester and Noble Ed Holt, which Deepwater agreed on October 13.

ONGC asked Deepwater Drilling to match Jagson's EDR of $76,000 for its Category II rig Noble Kenneth Delaney, which Deepwater agreed on October 13. In Category I, ONGC asked for eight rigs of Marathon Le Tourneau, Baker Marine Class or Levingston design and opened the prices of six confirmed rigs. In Category II, ONGC wanted three Friede & Goldman design rigs and opened the prices of four confirmed rigs. In Category III where ONGC wants a single slot type rig there were no offers. This means ONGC still needs three rigs for which it is likely to issue a tender soon: two of either Marathon Le Tourneau, Baker Marine Class or Levingston design and one slot type rig.

ONGC asked Deepwater Drilling to match Jagson's EDR of $76,000 for its Category II rig Noble Kenneth Delaney, which Deepwater agreed on October 13. In Category I, ONGC asked for eight rigs of Marathon Le Tourneau, Baker Marine Class or Levingston design and opened the prices of six confirmed rigs. In Category II, ONGC wanted three Friede & Goldman design rigs and opened the prices of four confirmed rigs. In Category III where ONGC wants a single slot type rig there were no offers. This means ONGC still needs three rigs for which it is likely to issue a tender soon: two of either Marathon Le Tourneau, Baker Marine Class or Levingston design and one slot type rig.